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As if it were not hard enough being a goalkeeper at international level, Namibia’s number 1 Athiel Mbaha has to do the job without being able to hear, but his best friend and goalkeeping understudy does not mind sharing his ears, as FIFA magazine found out.
The Herero-speaking people of Namibia use the word Gatuvaterasane to describe a sense of selflessness that means “let’s help each other”. It perfectly describes the spirit of generosity and empathy that exists between Namibia’s international goalkeepers Athiel Mbaha and Ephraim Tjihonge. Although they both vie for the Brave Warriors’ number 1 jersey, they are best of friends and Tjihonge, 21, who plays his club football for South Africa’s Black Leopards, is one of the players on whom Mbaha most depends. This is because the 31 -year-old often needs the younger goalkeeper to tell him what is happening, to serve as his ears and his voice.
Mbaha has been deaf since the age of seven, but with the help of Tjihonge, with whom he often shares a room when travelling with the Namibian side, Mbaha spoke to FIFA magazine. He says that he suddenly developed a loss of hearing when he was seven years old. “Nobody really knew exactly what the problem was, and I stayed in hospital in Windhoek for eight months before being sent to Cape Town in South Africa,” he says. “The doctors could not cure me and after a while they sent me home, telling me that I should try to learn to speak as much as possible and to see what happens.”
FINDING FOOTBALL
After his release from hospital, the youngster was encouraged to go to a normal school. It was there that he started playing football. “I started playing in midfield, but one day I went into goal, and I must have pulled off a number of good saves because I was told that I should be a goalkeeper from that time on,” explains Mbaha.
He continued playing school football and also turned out for a rural team until he was 18, by which time he was showing enough promise to join African Stars, one of the top sides in Windhoek. He stayed there for four years before moving to Blue Waters in Walvis Bay. Three years later, the South African professional club Black Leopards signed him, together with Tjihonge. “But things did not go well in South Africa,” he revealed. “Some of my team-mates struggled to understand me and at times club officials blamed me for defeats. Although I was playing a lot, I was homesick and decided to leave. I was loaned to Orlando Pirates, who play in Windhoek.”
Mbaha manages to communicate with his team-mates largely by screaming at them. Although the sounds he makes do not come out as polished words, his team-mates get the gist. He used to play with a hearing aid, but it dropped to the ground during a game and some players stepped on it and it broke. “It is very expensive, so I no longer use it during games,” he says.
Dutchman Arie Schans, who has recently been appointed Namibian national coach, says that there is no problem with communication: “Athiel has been a part of the national squad for a long time, so he knows the other players and they know him. They communicate in their own way.”
A GOOD FUTURE
Mbaha was first called into the national squad in 2004 and his friend Tjihonge was called up alongside him. “We played against a regional team from Germany and since then I have been a regular in the Namibian squad,” says Mbaha.
Mbaha was the number 1 choice goalkeeper under coach Ben Bamfuchile, who sensationally took Namibia to their second Africa Cup of Nations finals last year with a 3-2 victory in Ethiopia in their last match. When the Zambian-born coach died a few weeks before the start of the Cup of Nations, the Namibia Football Association gave the reins to Schans, who had earlier been earmarked to act as adviser to Bamfuchile.
The former Bhutan coach decided to play South African-based Abisai Shiningayamwe in the Brave Warriors’ first game against Morocco, which the southern African country lost 5-1. Mbaha was then given a chance in Namibia’s second game against Ghana and despite the 1-0 loss, did well enough to keep his place for their final game against Guinea, which they drew 1-1.
“At first I thought his hearing problems could be an issue,” Schans admits. “But he is very talented in my opinion. Our goalkeeping coach, Ronny Kanalelo, works very hard with him, and I think Athiel has a good future in the Namibian team.” Tjihonge explains that Schans had wanted Mbaha to play with his hearing aid. “Possibly that is one of the reasons why Athiel did not play in the first game, but after the side lost so badly he was put in goal and he did well.”
Mbaha is adamant that he does not need the hearing aid. “Not being able to hear does not stop me from playing well,” he says firmly. “It does not stop me from concentrating on the game, and it does not stop me from playing the game I love. I only play with my heart. I have a big heart and I am a fighter. I take one step at a time.”
He hesitates when asked whether there have been many cases of team¬mates blaming him for goals: “There have been a few who have not treated me very well and in a friendly against South Africa in Windhoek there was some miscommunication and one of the players said that I did not deserve to play for Namibia because of my disability. One of our players had shouted ‘keeper’ to indicate that it was my ball to take, but I did not react and the ball went into the back of the net. But that has been the only problem.”
A ROLE MODEL
Mbaha sees himself as a bit of a role model for other deaf people. “I hope that they see what I have achieved and realise that they too can do anything they want to. I am lucky because I can talk a little bit. It is much more difficult for those who can’t speak at all. I just hope that others will follow in my footsteps.”
Mbaha, who comes from a huge family – his father had 46 (!) children – has two children of his own. They both live with their mothers. When he is not on the football field, he loves watching movies and listening to music. “Although I can’t really hear the music, I can feel the vibrations from the speakers and when I feel that, I immediately feel the music.”
At the end of his career, which he hopes will include another stint playing professionally abroad, he wants to get involved in coaching. “I want to be a development coach or a goalkeeping coach. Football is my life. I sleep football, I eat football and I dream football. I certainly want to stay in the game. It will be difficult for a person with my disability, but I will use all means to make myself understood.” But Mbaha should still have a few years left playing at the highest level, which he hopes to do in the company of his friend Tjihonge.
“We have such a strong bond because we speak the same language and we are from the same Herero tribe. And because we speak the same language, we are used to staying together. After meetings we will go to a room, and I will explain things like dress code to him and tell him when we are going somewhere,” says Tjihonge, who does not have to think twice about helping the senior goalkeeper. “When you get a chance to help another player play professionally, you help them,” he says matter-of-factly. “His success is my success too. I have to encourage him and also learn from him. We help each other.”

Sep

20

2008

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Spain turned EURO 2008, held in Austria and Switzerland from 7 to 29 June, into their very own footballing fiesta. They regained their European crown after 44 years, delighting even neutral spectators with their stylish play.
Was this, as many experts claimed afterwards, the best European Championship ever? It is often unjust to draw comparisons with past tournaments, since memories of the latest tournament are of course fresher in the mind than those of previous ones. We tend to hyperbolise, glorifying what has just been witnessed and automatically ranking it above the past. Nevertheless, EURO 2008 was certainly a thrilling tournament, full of unexpected results and an atmosphere that was electric both inside and outside the eight stadiums in the two Alpine countries.
For the first time in a while, a major football title was actually won by the team that played the best and most attractive football. Spain were peerless in this tournament, being the only one of the 16 teams to emerge victorious from all of their matches. They also had the most shots at goal (117), scored the most goals (12) and boasted the most prolific goal-scorer in the competition in David Villa (four goals).
“All of Spain goes crazy” was the headline of one leading Spanish newspaper after the final in Vienna. Hundreds of thousands of people across the country took to the streets to celebrate the 1-0 victory over Germany thanks to Fernando Torres’s goal – their first major triumph since the European Championship title in 1964.
Spain has had to wait AA years for a major title. Invariably among the favourites for European Championships and World Cups in the past, they have often been knocked out at an early stage. While Spanish clubs have repeatedly won European competitions and Spain has regularly blazed a trail in junior competitions and futsal, the senior national team has disappointed.
SLICK COMBINATION PLAY
At EURO 2008, however, Spain finally made up to its fans for the many losses and disappointments of the past. “La furia roja” (The Red Fury) lived up to their nickname, not only beating their opponents but dominating them with slick combination play. The Spaniards made 569 passes per game, more than any other team, and 81 per cent of them were successful.
They left opponents bewildered with some of their play. Midfielders Xavi Hernandez – rightly crowned player of the tournament by UEFA – Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas and Marcos Senna were comfortable in possession, nimble and quick, and passed the ball around among one another with such speed and skill that opponents were often completely nonplussed. Before their opponents knew what was happening, one of the Spanish midfielders had slotted an angled pass through to red-hot strikers Villa or Torres or had ghosted in to finish off the move himself.
TURKISH PASSION
Luis Aragones, the oldest coach in this year’s EURO at 70, allowed his team to play modern, entertaining and efficient football, thereby creating something of a revolution. For in a time when many believe that successful footballers have to be big, strong and athletic, Aragones opted instead for smaller, even delicately built players. They showed great discipline, sticking to their pattern of play and never losing their shape, but nevertheless took advantage of the freedoms allowed them to play thrilling attacking football that delighted even neutral spectators.
Russia and Turkey were the surprise packages of the tournament, upsetting the odds to qualify for the semi-finals. The Russians, the youngest of all the teams competing, offered up a refreshing brand of football characterised by athleticism, so much so that names like Andrei Arshavin, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Yuriy Zhirkov are now familiar outside of Russia, too.
The Turkish may not have stood out in terms of their style of play, but they demonstrated what can be achieved with team spirit, morale, willpower and passion, coming back from a goal behind in three different matches.
GREEK DISAPPOINTMENT
Several big names performed poorly at EURO 2008. Defending champions Greece, statistically the best team in qualifying, failed to win a single point in the finals and were knocked out after the group matches.
There was little to cheer for the French either. The EURO 2000 champions and 2006 FIFA World Cup™ finalists were also sent home after the first round following painful defeats to the Netherlands (4-1) and Italy (2-0). Coach Raymond Domenech has kept his post but will have no choice but to build a new team.
There was no such mercy for Roberto Donadoni, who lost his job following Italy’s elimination in the quarter-finals against Spain and lethargic performances in the group matches. His successor is his predecessor, Marcello Lippi, who led the squadra azzurra to FIFA World Cup™ victory in 2006 before supposedly retiring.
Hosts Switzerland and Austria failed to spring any surprises. Switzerland, at least, managed to win one match (2-0 against Portugal), while Austria contented themselves with a draw (1-1against Poland). Off the field, however, the two host countries gained top marks. As expected, they were hospitable, open and professional organisers of an event which, bar a few minor incidents, passed off peacefully.
SINGLE STRIKER
As at the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ in Germany, the so-called public viewing events also proved to be a big hit in Austria and Switzerland. According to reports, four million people in the two countries watched the 31 matches in the fan zones. EURO 2008 emphatically demonstrated the appeal of national teams – 130,000 Dutch followed their team to Switzerland, while up to 40,000 Swedes were counted in Austria. The fans are no longer content just to turn up wearing shirts and scarves and waving flags. Matches have now become veritable masked balls where Supermen from Spain mingle with angels from the Netherlands and Julius Caesars from Italy. Creativity abounds amid a carnival atmosphere.
The players and coaches also appear to have been inspired by the blaze of colour, originality and spontaneity. Concerns prior to kick-off that the EURO would appeal only to advocates of defensive, tactical football proved to be unfounded. In total, 77 goals were scored, an average of 2.5 goals per game, which is not bad by any means.
The tactic of playing five midfielders and only one striker is becoming increasingly popular, and appears to guarantee goals.
Both finalists took to the field with only one striker — Spain with Fernando Torres, and Germany with Miroslav Klose. This tactic does not say much on its own, however, as the Spaniards had five clear-cut goal-scoring opportunities, and the Germans none.

A footballing anarchist
Michael Ballack is the only truly world-class player among Germany’s current breed. Yet at 32, he has not won a single international title.
He moves his two hands towards each other in slow motion and claps them above his head, squeezing a glistening disc between the thumb and index finger of his left hand. Ballack, responding to his duties, applauds the black-, red-and gold-bedecked mass of supporters in the stands. He looks detached and distant on this night of 29 June 2008 in the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna. How dearly he would love to be the one holding aloft the shining trophy awarded to the winners of the 2008 European Championship. Instead, the Germany captain and his team-mates have to settle for the silver medal.
The team’s best was just not quite good enough to claim this year’s EURO, resulting in yet another runners-up spot for Ballack, just as at the 2002 FIFA World Cup”‘ when he was condemned to watch the final from the sidelines following a yellow card in the semi-final. Scorer of the crucial goals in the 1-0 victories over the USA in the quarter-final and Korea Republic in the semi-final in Yokohama, Japan, Ballack had to look on helplessly as his team-mates went down 2-0 to Brazil. He has also twice finished runner-up in the UEFA Champions League: in 2002, when Bayer Leverkusen were pipped 2-1 by favourites Real Madrid and six years later (five and a half weeks before the EURO 2008 final), when Chelsea lost to Manchester United. The latter defeat was heartbreaking not only for Ballack but also for Chelsea captain John Terry, who slipped on the greasy turf just as his right foot made contact with the ball during the penalty shoot-out and consequently miskicked the ball towards the post. Ballack collapsed on the ground between two team-mates as if he had fainted and cried bitter tears afterwards. Such reactions are allowed in emotionally fraught situations like these, says Ballack, and he is not ashamed of his tears.
NO SELF-PITY
Two and a half weeks later, still feeling this extreme disappointment in his mind and body, he reported for duty with the German team, determined to lead them to the EURO 2008 title. Germany coach Joachim Low gave Ballack an extra two days’ leave to overcome his disappointment, during which time he explained the tears he had shed in Moscow to his three boys, aged between three and six, and talked at length with Torsten Frings, his midfield partner in the national team. After that, he drew a line under the matter. Not for him the need for expert counselling. He kept the torment that he felt inside to himself without complaining in public. After all, Ballack is not the type to bare his soul, he is too mature, too matter-of-fact for that. There is little point talking about painful defeats and their devastating effects, says Ballack, who overcame his own disappointment. “It’s over and done with,” he says.
His mind clear once again, and with his vigour renewed, Ballack found himself back among the German national team. Football never stops, so there is no time for self-pity. In this respect, sport mirrors everyday life. Things rarely turn out the way you want them to and there are some things you cannot change.
At the 2002 FIFA World Cup™’, Ballack had already come to terms with the heartbreaking reality of his suspension from the final within two days of his fateful yellow card in the semi-final against Korea Republic. Relaxing on a leather couch in the lobby of a grand hotel in Yokohama, wearing his customary shy smile, he was looking forward to his new career at Bayern Munich. Since then, Ballackhas gone on to become Germany’s leading footballer, the only one of the current breed who truly deserves the epithet “world class”.
BALLACK’S INFLUENCE
He is an outstanding player in a strong but ultimately average team, says Franz Beckenbauer, another who, like Ballack, was known for his elegance on the ball. Beckenbauer, an honorary German Football Association captain, has called Ballack, the latest player to wear the armband, a leader and genuine captain. Ballack enjoys a special position under current German coach Low, just as Beckenbauer did under Helmut Schon, the World Cup-winning coach of 1974. They talk about matches together, discussing which is the best strategy to take, just as at EURO 2008 when they opted to change their previously favoured 4-4-2 system following the nervy 1-0 victory over Austria. “We had to change things around,” said Ballack, before deferring dutifully to his coach. “Low was the first to see this, and I shared his opinion.”
From then on, the German team played in a 4-2-3-1 formation that further emphasised Ballack’s role as leader. Ballack, whom Rudi Voller gave his own number 13 shirt by way of an honour, was released from his duties as a left-sided defensive midfielder alongside Frings and given attacking liberties behind the sole striker, Miroslav Klose. “I am a strong attacking player and I can bring my qualities to bear in the opponent’s penalty box,” says Ballack himself. “Of course, I feel comfortable when I can move further forward.”
WELL-SPENT FINE
At the 2006 FIFA World Cup™, Ballack sacrificed his attacking instincts to take up a role in defensive midfield, shielding the rearguard and picking up loose balls. The world’s most prolific goal-scoring midfielder, as former coach Voller described him, did not score a single goal from open play. At EURO 2008, Ballack was thrust further forward, in both senses. This tactic has proven a success at club level, where, after six months out following an operation, Ballack scored seven goals in the Premier League and two in the Champions League for Chelsea. He continued in the same vein at EURO 2008, getting on the end of a free-kick swung into the box by Bastian Schweinsteiger to head Germany into a 3-1 lead, albeit after a push on Portugal’s Paulo Ferreira. This was the goal that took Germany to the semi-final. Earlier in the same match, Ballack had helped set up the 1-0 after a fine one-two with Podolski, who was racing down the left wing. He rewarded the coach for his new-found tactical freedom with tireless cross-field running: in total, he covered 12.1 kilometres during the 90 minutes of this quarter-final in Basle, more than any other player, and in all he covered close to 68 kilometres during his six games at EURO 2008.
The decision to free Ballack from his tactical shackles, which had borne fruit so spectacularly against Portugal, was less successful in the semi-final against Turkey and the final against Spain. Beckenbauer therefore rightfully asks whether such an advanced position really suits Ballack’s game. Ballack is much more dangerous and effective when he has the game in front of him and can ghost into the box from positions further back.
The debate about Ballack’s ideal position is a longstanding one, and has never been fully resolved. At Bayern Munich, for whom Ballack scored a number of spectacular strikes and headers during his four years at the club, an expert panel consisting of Beckenbauer, Hitzfeld, Hoeness and Rummenigge held lengthy discussions on where best in the midfield to deploy Ballack. When Ballack felt suffocated by defensive duties during his early days in Munich, he voiced his frustration and was fined 10,000 euros. However, it was money well spent, as from then on he was allowed to give greater rein to his attacking instincts.
GREAT SCORING RECORD
Ballack is basically a footballing anarchist who likes to follow his impulses on the pitch and run wherever the situation and his unerring instincts take him, invariably leaving him in the ideal position to hit the back of the net with his powerful shots and headers. He has scored 38 goals in 87 appearances for Germany — an outstanding ratio for a midfielder. His free-kick from 20 yards out against Austria will live long in the memory: he put his whole body weight behind the right-foot strike, which reached 75mph on its way into the left-hand corner of the net. The match ended 1 -0 for Germany and sealed qualification for the quarter-final.
Ballack’s emotions burst forth at this moment. Thanks to his goal, Germany had avoided a repeat of Cordoba, the scene of their ignominious 3-2 FIFA World Cup”‘ defeat to Austria in 1978. Ultimately, however, there was to be no triumph in the final in Vienna. Ballack, looking more earnest and tougher with his recently tightened curls, had sounded a note of caution before the tournament kicked off, warning that everything would have to work out exactly to plan if Germany were to win the European Championship, and his doubts were confirmed. Following the 1-0 defeat to a far superior Spanish team in the final, he was forced to admit that Germany still had some catching up to do in terms of technique and tactics.
THE HOME STRAIGHT
There is still time to do this before the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa and Ballack will continue to lead the team by example until then. Following his comfortable existence at Bayern Munich, he opted to pit his wits against stronger competition at Chelsea and has finally proven his worth. As both Beckenbauer and Ballack himself testify, the player has learned a lot during his time in England, especially how to deal with setbacks. Even as an established figure within the dressing room, he has found the new drive to continue improving both his physique and his speed. Recognising this, the ambitious London club have prematurely extended his contract until 2011.
Before bringing down the curtain on his career, the man with the number 13 is seeking to win the biggest trophy of them all – the FIFA World Cup Trophy. Were Germany to win, it would give Ballack his first international title. Not that he would consider his career to be incomplete otherwise. That label is too exaggerated for him. And quite rightly so, because Michael Ballack, who has taken his many sporting setbacks on the chin, is respected around the world. His career may be on the home straight, but he still has time for further glory.

Michael Ballack is still waiting to win an international title, but he has come close several times. The 1-0 defeat to Spain in the final of EURO 2008 saw the Germany captain reach an unwanted milestone in his career, as he finished runner-up for the tenth time.
Ballack’s second places:
2000: German league (champions: Bayern Munich)
2002: German league (Borussia Dortmund), German cup (Schalke), UEFA Champions League (Real Madrid), FIFA World Cup™ (Brazil)
2007: English league (Manchester United)
2008: English league cup (Tottenham Hotspur), English league (Manchester United), UEFA Champions League (Manchester United), European Championship (Spain)